In a tradition dating from 1854 the ‘Dartmoor Letterboxes’ are placed across the moors for walkers to discover.
The first letterbox was actually a bottle, placed by a Dartmoor guide called James Perrott. Visitors to the isolated spot would leave their visiting card inside the bottle as proof that they had been there.
Some of the boxes are easy to find, and accessible from roads, while others are both in accessible places, and hard to find when you get there! The task might be seen as a mix of map-reading and orienteering to find the location, then puzzle solving (or treasure hunting…’take 10 paces north’) to find the
box.
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February 16th, 2009 | Posted in Countryside | No Comments
The Countryside Code was established to help protect the countryside, and to help ensure that the impact of tourism on a region is kept to a minimum.
There are several sections to the Code, that you should keep in mind when exploring the countryside.
Remember that the Countryside Code is there for the benefit of all – those who live and work in the countryside, visitors to the region, and future generations.
February 16th, 2009 | Posted in Countryside | No Comments
While Dartmoor has to make do with it’s famous Dartmoor letterboxes, its northern neighbour Exmoor has something altogether more exciting for you to look out for – the Beast of Exmoor!
The Exmoor Beast is a large cat-like creature, that is said to live in the Exmoor National Park, where it ccasionally kills sheep, and is very occasionally spotted by people.
Perhaps the size of a puma, it is black or dark grey, more than 1.5 metres long, very fast and very quiet. It stalks the moors preying on wildlife and posing risk to all who dare enter.
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February 16th, 2009 | Posted in Countryside | No Comments